Instructions: Its frying time again; the manly way to cook a turkey

Every year about this time, the calls start coming. Its always a man on the other end of the phone, and its usually on Monday morning. "Hey, could you tell me how to deep-fry one of those turkeys?"

I immediately know what he was doing the previous Sunday. Instead of helping his wife with the laundry, taking his kids to the zoo or separating the irises, he was parked on the Barca, watching John Madden draw arrows and circles and comment on some behemoths.

(I know what he has been doing because Im the football sinner in my house.) and what the caller has seen on NFL Sunday is some football fan deep-frying a turkey at a stadium tailgating party.

Frying whole turkeys is sort of the Southern version of making fondue. You have a lot of your friends over, you poke around in a pot of hot oil with some sticks and then you pull out your dinner.

Justin Wilson, he of Cajun fame, recalls first seeing a turkey fry in Louisiana in the 1930s. Most recently, John Martin Taylor, another Southern boy and promoter of Southern cooking as Hoppin John, has been touring the country to promote his `The Fearless Frying Cookbook (Workman, $10.95). In the process of demonstrating the joys of frying, Hoppin John often drops a turkey into a bubbling caldron.

What this yields is a turkey that is incredibly moist with a crispy, fragrant crust. It is truly a turkey of dreams. Is the mess of spattered oil and a greasy carport worth this transcendental turkey? Only the person in charge of cleanup can make that decision.

If its Thanksgiving and youre a one-oven household, frying frees up the oven for the rolls, the dressing, the marshmallow-encrusted yams. However, Thanksgiving means a lot of keyed-up children, so there are safety issues to consider.

The remarkable thing about the whole process is that if done properly, fried turkey is not the dietary no-no it would appear. Heres how frying works:

The high heat of the oil causes the interior moisture of the turkey to rush to the skin, where it steams. (Thats the noise you hear.) As more water from the turkey moves out to replace the moisture it has lost, pressure keeps the oil out of the bird. All this steam action cools the surface enough to prevent the skin from burning, while the center of the turkey has time to cook.

There are two tenets of Southern male cooking. It has to be done outside, and the results should be bad for you. Well, one out of two aint bad.

Deep-Fried Turkey

Serves 20

4 to 5 gallons peanut oil
12- to 15-pound whole turkey, at room temperature Cayenne pepper, optional

Begin heating the oil outdoors in a 10-gallon pot over a very hot propane flame. Dont set the burner to its highest setting, as you may need to increase the heat after youve added the turkey. It will take about 20 minutes for the oil to heat. Use a candy/deep-fry thermometer clamped to the side of the pot to determine the temperature of the oil.

Meanwhile, rinse the turkey well, pat it dry inside and out and set it on end in a sink to drain.

When the oil reaches 375 degrees, pat the turkey dry again and sprinkle with cayenne, if desired. If your cooker has a basket insert, place turkey in the basket and set it over a baking sheet; if not, set an oven rack over a large baking sheet, place the turkey on it and take them outside to the cooker.

Check temperature of the oil. When oil reaches 390 degrees, carefully and slowly lower the basket with the turkey into the oil; or lower it by holding it by its legs or by a long, heavy tool such as a clean fireplace poker inserted into its cavity. (Or, pull a length of cotton twine through the flesh loop that is holding the legs in place. Double the cotton and tie securely, fashioning a handle for dropping and lifting.) Immediately check the oil temperature and adjust the flame so that the temperature does not dip below 340 degrees. You want to maintain the temperature at 365 degrees. As it cooks, occasionally move the bird around in the oil so that it doesnt scorch. The oil near the heat source will be hotter.

A whole turkey takes only 3-4 minutes per pound to fry to perfection. Small ones, around 12 pounds, will take about 35 minutes; large ones, around 15 pounds, will take about 1 hour. When the turkey is done, it will float to the surface with a perfectly crispy, brown skin. If you are unsure, you can test the meat for doneness at the hip joint, or insert a meat thermometer into the breast; it should register 180 degrees.

Using the basket insert if there is one, or by again inserting a long, heavy tool such as a clean fireplace poker into its cavity, carefully remove the turkey from the oil and hold it over the pot for a moment to allow any excess oil to drain back into the pot. Then lay the bird on the oven rack. Allow it to rest for 20 minutes before carving.

by Hoppin John Martin Taylor

(Workman, $10.95)

Deep-Frying Dos and Donts

Do:
Lock up any liquor until the turkey is fried and draining and the pot with the oil has been allowed to cool.

Wear heavy, protective shoes and long sleeves.

Keep oven mitts close by.

Use a candy/deep-fry thermometer to check the temperature of the oil.

Keep baking soda or a fire extinguisher handy.

Make sure turkey is fairly dry when placing it in oil.

Use oil with a high "smoke point." Peanut, corn, canola and safflower are good. (Buying tip: Sams sells 35-pound containers of peanut oil for around $25.)

Dont
Allow children or pets near the proceedings.

Crowd the pot. The oil needs to circulate freely around the turkey.

Allow oil to get smoky. If it does start to smoke, replace it with new oil. If kept hot, smoking oil can ignite.

Move a pot with hot oil in it. Let oil cool in pot and then remove pot from burner.

Use a pot smaller than the burner. Oil could splatter onto flame and ignite.

Allow oil temperature to dip below 340 degrees. Thats the point at which oil starts seeping into the food.

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